Words

Do we really understand the power of words? Probably not. I do like words and try hard not to misuse them. This is especially true when I'm teaching or writing. I know the power words have so I don't want to use them lightly... nor do I want them to be used as a weapon against others. The devil, on the other hand, was defeated by words. Jesus said to him - it is written and the devil left... defeated. WE can also do the same thing - we can defeat the devil by correctly saying what the Word says. Of course that begins with us putting the Word in our heaarts so we can defeat the devil.

My thinking about words is based in a number of things - the light in a student's eyes when they finally see the concept and can engage it, the confidence another person experiences when another person says - ahhh, I get it or the smile in another's face when they feel encouraged by what you said. And - not the least of which is seen in the Word - we will give an accounting of every idle word we say (Matthew 12:36). 

Our words to others are impactful... but our words to ourselves are also impactful. Do we really understand the power of words? Doubtful. If we did then we wouldn't be saying such words as - I hate (fill in the blank), that killed me, that you scared me to death, or I can never do that, etc. Whether or not we initially believe what we say, those words are out there and can be used either for or against us. Balderdash! No. Part of the problem is that we don't listen to our what we say. I suspect that if we did, we wouldn't be so casual or cavalier about what we say.

Interestingly enough is that 2 of the 10 Commandments relate to our tongue and our words - taking the Lord's name in vain and bearing false witness [Exodus 20: 7, 16]. When we speak we're supposed to speak truth in love. Do you realize the support you give when you speak (genuine) encouragement? Perhaps it's even more important when you give a word (based in scripture) of correction. Regardless... our words to others makes an enormous impact. Remember how you feel when you are encouraged or corrected. Our 'how' of doing both is important if we want the listener to understand.

Scripture tells us in Proverbs 6 about what God hates and one of them is a lying tongue. We should avoid this at all costs - the price really is too steep. Besides, in the final analysis, what is it we gain?

   "This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never

    been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless

    God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women h   

    made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!' [James 3:9]

Just as we guard our hearts... and minds... we need to guard our words.                            

At the end of the day

[This is one of those in the middle of the night 'inspirations' that occasion the thought that I can already tell that this is going to turn into a blog post. The [] will indicate a side conversation with the Reader as we proceed.]

As you are about to lie down on your bed, or maybe you’re sitting on the edge of your bed, or just as you lay your head on the pillow and pull up the covers… where’s your mind? Perhaps you are prioritizing your ‘to do’ list for the next day or maybe you begin thinking about the should do’s, the hafta do’s, the wanna do’s?, the gotta do’s? Does this enhance sleep for you? Does it deter it until you have some sort of 'tomorrow's plan'? 

[To answer your question... no this is not stream of consciousness or an irrelevant question of the day. Sleep is crucial to our mental and health condition.]

Do you ever have a Worship/Praise song that was part of the Sunday church service stick in your mind? I seem to... all the time. This Sunday we sang 'Shout for Joy'. If you aren't familiar, google the title and you'll see the words. The phrase that seems to play over and over in my thoughts is that I am filled when I worship. I'm not telling the Father something He doesn't already know... but I get to say it.

Soooo, I think I’m going to change my end of the day. To what? I know that I sometimes throw a ‘thank you Lord ...' Kinda lame. Good focus but surely I can do better. So what I’ve decided is to focus on Worship. To be grateful to the One who is willing to continue helping me become... and so much more.

There's a phrase - 'Worship Him with gladness' which set me to thinking. Wouldn't this be a terrific way to end the day? [Yes, start the day too.] So...... how does one 'do' this? It begins and is individualized by each of us - how do we worship? Do we know the difference between when we are praising versus when we are worshipping? Does this make a difference? [I would argue - Yes.] However, as in every spiritual matter - it depends on us: what we've learned, what we do, how we do what we've learned and are we progressing in this? Romans 12:1-2

   "Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present

    your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy

    and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of

    worship. And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial

    values and customs], but be [c]transformed and progressively changed [as you

    mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and

    ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God

    is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for

    you]." AMP

You did see that you WILL prove for yourself what the will of God is: good, acceptable, perfect.  This is a huge benefit of worship. To me, this means that at the end of the day, I can look back and see how I have learned, understood, applied - judged - the value of my day. The Message Bible phrases this as:

   "So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday,

    ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—
    and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the

    best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture

    that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God.

    You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from

    you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging

    you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops

    well-formed maturity in you." 

The Message Bible puts it so spot on - our lives in our world in which we live. And we can worship the Lord who is with us in our day. Worship, however you define this, is a wonderful way to end the day.

'The End'

 We will never know ahead of time when 'The End' will come. Period. I think there are a variety of reasons why - not the least of which is how our focus would change based on this specific knowing. We need to be engaged in our days, we need to be sharing our talents and gifts - we need to do what Jesus did: being about His Father's business. 

If you remember correctly, believers know where we are going. If you've read your Bible you have sufficient information to understand the time you are living in. I guess I will never understand why we should go into 'survival mode' in our time. If God isn't for us (and He tells us each and every day that He is... in so many ways) why should we fret and worry? However, that doesn't mean we need to be ignorant or ignore what's happening in the world nor get upset nor .... The only book in the Bible that states that blessed are those who read Revelation (Revelation 1;3). 

[As an aside... I've always been slightly curious about the fact that an 's' appears to be added to the book's title. It isn't RevelationS it's Revelation. Because John clearly states that it is a revelation of Jesus.]

Throughout the Old and New Testaments there are references and prophecies about the End Times. GotQuestions suggests that over 27% of predictive scripture is related to this subject. One of the more quoted Old Testament scripture: 

   “It shall come about after this [see verses preceding 28] That I shall pour out

    My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

    Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.

    Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

   (Joel 2:28-29 - this verse was quoted by Peter in Acts on the day of Pentecost)

New Testament 

   "Jesus answered, “Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and

    leading you into error]. For many will come in My name [misusing it, and

    appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to Me], saying, ‘I am the

    Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ and they will mislead many. You will

    continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened,

    for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end [of the age]. For

    nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be

    famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are merely the

    beginning of birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish and the time of 

    unprecedented trouble]. [Matthew 24:4-8]

You did see the word, 'beginning'. Jesus told His disciples that no one know when the End Times would be except the Father. [Matthew 24:36-44/ 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 / 2 Peter 3:10...] However, He doesn't tell us to be foolish and He does give us 'sighs' that the end is near. Yet... I don't think this is the emphasis we need to focus on.  

   "Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to

    completely finish His work. Do you not say, ‘It is still four months until the

    harvest comes?’ Look, I say to you, raise your eyes and look at the fields and

    see, they are white for harvest. Already the reaper is receiving his wages and

    he is gathering fruit for eternal life; so that he who plants and he who reaps 

    may rejoice together." [John 4:34-36, AMP]

Remember whose you are and who you serve - trust that you are becoming all that you can be in your day, in your world. Study, understand, grow and keep your eyes on the prize [Philippians 3:13-14|.

 

Seek?!

Are you seeking?  … for? Have you found what you are seeking? Are you in ‘possession’ of what you sought? What are you doing with the results of what you found? Honestly, sometimes we really aren't certain about what we think we are seeking. Since the Father doesn't play games, doesn't tempt, doesn't withhold any good thing (Psalms 84:11) have you gone to Him and asked for help? I am constantly amazed that the last one we tend to turn to is the One holding all the answers. I do this too.

Matthew 7:7-8 makes it quite clear... if we seek, we WILL find. However, that does require us to know what it is we seek. While discovering is one of my favorite things to do and basically without forethought... still, when we are in need, we need to be specific or we may not see what we are seeking. Scripture also tells us 'how' to come, Hebrews 11:6

   "But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for

    whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and

    that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him." 

Logical - yes. Though sometimes the cares of the world and the fight we seem to continually fight causes us to waver. Everything... as in EVERYTHING we do and that we are, is really based in our faith. Without it.... no foundation, and only a wondering 'hope'. That does not define 'abundant' in my world of words. Jesus told us He came to bring us life and life abundantly [John 10:10]

   "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that
    they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it

    overflows]."

Just so there is no misunderstanding: the thief is the devil and the 'they' is us - everyone who has been born again, who has made Jesus their Lord. WE get the abundant life. Isn't that worth seeking? Then again, it has always been ours though I doubt we've taken the time to discover how the Lord defines 'abundant'.

We sometimes forget that God gives us a measure of faith [Romans 12:3], and we can move mountains with our faith [Mark 11:23] and John makes it very clear that it is our faith that pleases the Father and that we will be rewarded. In my world, seeking begins the journey of understanding. And understanding is a firm foundation for our faith. This is merely a quick overview of faith and what it DOES. Faith is a doer. Like love, like being the Lord's Ambassador and workman and so many other qualities - they are action words. 

A founding principle is that we begin with the realization that we must abide in Him.

   "The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise]

    apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing"

That nugget in John 15:4-11 is summed up in verse 5. What first caught my eye was the promise of fruitfulness. Abiding gives us the assurance of fruitful. We have never been tossed out on our own. It is our unity with the Lord that provides our strength to be and do who we are. I would argue that fruitfulness is a worthy quality to seek - and in John we see how we can. Abide.

How does this discussion relate to seeking? It's the foundation, it's the motivation and the activity of seeking. Seeking is how we grow and mature - it's how we begin our journey of understanding. Seeking is a worthwhile activity because Matthew tells us that we we seek and keep on seeking... we will find )Matthew 7:7).

Accepting being forgiven....

[If there seems to be a theme emerging.... ummm, yes. And each builds on each other - we need to act on 'it' all.]

I know I've written on our issue of 'accepting' ... there's always more questions and more to learn.  I just wrote a post on 'Always Forgiven' and raised the following:

   "And after the giving and seeking forgiveness there's always the issue of 

    accepting the forgiveness. Why would we ever seek forgiveness if we weren't

    going to accept it? And do we feel we need to 'pay' for our forgiveness or act

    this way toward others.... but this is an entirely different discussion." Me  

How do you handle - accepting? Try to ignore the issue? You do realize that there is little effective 'moving on' if you don't accept? What if you repeat and need forgiveness again? Sometimes our earnest desires for change, improvement also take time. But does that mean you don't accept the Lord's (and others) forgiveness of you and your words/behavior? Didn't God say that He would forget our forgiven yesterdays?

   "He [God] has not dealt with us according to our sins [as we deserve], Nor

    rewarded us [with punishment] according to our wickedness. For as the

    heavens are high above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those

    who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence]. As
    far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions 

    from us" [Psalms 103:10-12, AMP]

And if that doesn't put a period to being forgiven by the Father, there are over 66 other verses that confirm this. Though... maybe your issue is not that you don't know you're forgiven - you just don't know how to accept that forgiveness?

Why, do you think, we have such a difficult time accepting our forgiveness? Does it all still go back to 'worthiness'? Bottom line. We aren't worthy of ourselves, but we are in the process of becoming who we can be. We don't make ourselves worthy, sufficient - isn't God enough? He says in 2 Corinthians 3:5 that He is. Plus we always rest on our Savior who understands us and our failings and yet doesn't hold this against us. So why should we? Yes... strive toward the upward calling that Paul talks about [Philippians 3:14]. Keep your eyes on the prize [Colossians 3:2-10].  But realize that your growth, your understanding your fulfillment and fruitfulness comes when you lean... and accept and act on your forgiveness.

And, NO... this is not license to sin. What it should inspire in us is an attitude of gratitude. We could never, of ourselves, gain worthiness. However, it is one of the gifts Jesus brought to man. Gift. Not earned. Not purchased. A Gift. And there is only one way to accept and act on this gift - and it is salvation that begins our journey.

I sometimes think it takes more courage, more humility, more love to accept the offered forgiveness (because we know ourselves) than any other single act. And do tell the father of lies - that he has no right to accuse you for he has no place in you and "Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world." [1 John 4:4]. For some strange reason we tend to accept the accusation of a liar faster than the forgiveness of the God of the Universe. Why? Jesus came that we might have abundant life and part of that is accepting forgiveness..

Always Forgiven?

There's a teaching that seems to be a current talking point that I'm not completely understanding. It goes something like this: the believer is forgiven for ALL his sins even before he commits them! Obviously, being a believer is the requirement for that .... but is this 'license'? If it sounds like it is... I don't believe  this is the purpose. The basis for my pondering is:

   "If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude

    ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.]  

    1 John 1:8

The Message states this thought a bit stronger - 

   

   "If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that

    is errant nonsense. ... If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out

    contradict God—make a liar out of Him. A claim like that only shows off our

    ignorance of God."  1 John 1:8, 10

Granted verse 8 is followed by 1 John 1:9 which is a foundational verse for forgiveness. But... doesn't verse 8 also call into question or at least provide a caveat to the teaching?

The teachings I've heard have not focused on the reality of verse 8... or if it did, I somehow missed it. But I also believe my question/wondering does lead to an answer which is found in verse 9

   "On the other hand, if we admit our sins—simply come clean about them—He

    won’t let us down; He’ll be true to Himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us

    of all wrongdoing. " MSG

And on this basis, following the requirement... yes we are always forgiven. But it does require us to confess, repent to the Lord. 

I've added (for myself) and a sincere attempt not to repeat. If you get caught in repeating the same sins over and over also remember Jesus' words to Peter's question on how many times are we required to forgive others - 70x7 (Matthew 18: 21-22). And I've never believed this as a precise number but as an example. Do we forgive others that many times? If we don't then how can we possibly expect that we are continually forgiven?

Personally, I think I live in the state of continual forgiveness which dictates to me that I always have to forgive others. I don't need to be anyone's doormat or place myself in a position where I repeatedly have to forgive the same person for the same thing (whether they seek my forgiveness or not). This sounds totally counterintuitive. Then again... I think I'm always learning about forgiveness... including forgiving myself. Perhaps there's a pattern about how we go about forgiving others when we look at how we forgive ourselves? 

   "Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with

    one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in

    Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:31-32, MSG

And after the giving and seeking forgiveness there's always the issue of accepting the forgiveness. Why would we ever seek forgiveness if we weren't going to accept it? And do we feel we need to 'pay' for our forgiveness or act this way toward others.... but this is an entirely different discussion.

Finally I think I have understood what was being taught. That we always are forgiven because Jesus always stands as our advocate before the Father. (1 John 2:1) but it is in Hebrews that gives me my answer.

   "Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already

    ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold

    fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him

    as Savior]. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and

    understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted

    [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet

    without [committing any] sin. Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the

    throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence

    and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His

    amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at

    the right moment]." Hebrews 4:14-16 AMP

Matthew 7 tells us to ask, seek, knock and it is as we act on this, seek forgiveness that the 'always forgiven' becomes a truth we can believe and act in/on completely.

Questions!

To say that I love questions is an understatement of gargantuan proportions. I'm not too sure that I don't live apart from the questions. I do know that I have said, countless times, that I never met a question I didn't like. Granted, I didn't always love the answer that I discovered from the question - but that's a different discussion. I also remember times that I was asked if I had any questions (typically when I hadn't already asked some). My immediate reply was always that if I hadn't asked any questions then I didn't know enough to have any questions... yet.

To me, questions are way of looking at the world, of discovering. 'What if' has always been a good mate. And 'I've been thinking' or 'I wonder if...' aren't far behind. Why? Partially because a question essentially is value-less.  Though admittedly, questions can be used to help others begin looking at (fill in the blank) differently. It can be a teaching tool that directs without protolyzing. Unfortunately, it can also be used to force others in one's own particular preferences.

How do you view questions? As an interference? As only rabbit trails? We all have experienced the reply to our - may I ask a question? Especially if we qualify our question with a disclaimer of stupid. The answer we receive is that there is never a dumb question. True.... and not. Depends on the questioner's motivation. Why are they asking the question - and do not assume their answer. However, never dismiss a question as irrelevant.

It is true that questions can lead to rabbit trails but sometimes those trails can lead to new understandings - just don't dismiss out of hand. Actually... if we're interested in communicating, having a clear message. promote understanding and refine all that then questions can be a terrific aid. Sadly, there are people who don't know how to ask questions - that don't 'test' the teaching, their understanding and this can lead to disastrous results. Have you ever considered that encouraging questions, not just allowing them, can increase and encourage that person and others? 

And... if you are wondering if questions are found in scripture - the answer is a resounding - YES. Jesus' primary way of speaking to large groups of people was to speak in parables. However, He also used it as a teaching tool for His disciples. And when you look at the interactions between Jesus and His disciples - they were always asking Him questions.  

Knowing 'how' to ask questions should be a primary goal of every teacher regardless of setting. Questions are a way to discover. And discovering is always an adventure.